Rs 800 cr foreign assets detected; prosecution started in 3 cases; IT dept

 

 ENGALURU, Mar 23: The Karnataka-Goa Income Tax region has detected and unearthed about Rs 800 crore worth

foreign assets and started prosecution in three cases, a top

department official said here Saturday.

“Till date the directorate has detected and unearthed

foreign assets worth close to approximately Rs 800 crore.

Prosecution has been launched in three cases under the Black

Money Act.

Prosecution notices have already been issued in 10 other

cases,” principal chief Income Tax Commissioner

(Karnataka-Goa), B R Balakrishnan told a news conference here.

He said the searches exposed a complex web of overseas

entities floated by the assesses for laundering money abroad

and investments made in foreign assets, having ramifications

under the Black Money Act.

While probing many assesses in the mining business,

evidence of laundering the money abroad to clear undisclosed

overseas assets were found, he said.

“A few assesses have surrendered their Indian

citizenships and obtained citizenship of other countries.

They were found to have opened various undisclosed bank

accounts, made substantial investments in trust structures and

acquired real estate properties overseas in countries like

Hong Kong, the U.K., Samoa, Singapore, Bulgaria and Panama.

Searches have been conducted in 26 cases involving

foreign assets,” Balakrishnan added.

On Benami prohibition, he said the I-T department detected

unique modus operandi in Goa, where foreigners used to

acquire properties which were not registered in their names.

“Enquiries have revealed that many foreigners had paid

consideration for villas and were occupying the same for more

than a decade without getting it registered or transferred in

their names in order to circumvent the law of the land,” said

Balakrishnan.

He said 12 such properties have been provisionally

attached under the ‘Prohibition of Benami Properties

Transaction Act.’

The I-T department was likely to provisionally attach

approximately 100 acres of land worth more than Rs 100 crore by the end of March, he added. (PTI)